With this authoritative, engaging disc, Mercedes Sosa reminds fans across the globe that she remains a vital interpreter of common struggles and dreams, and her voice is still a world treasure.

Record Review /
Mark Schwartz,
Barnes & Noble / 09. September 2005

This Argentian songstress, who just turned seventy years old, continues to rise to the top with her spectacular and powerful voice. She has charisma that reaches through to the listener, making a long-lasting impression. One of her biggest hits, "Todo Cambia" (Everything Changes), is revamped by Mercedes in this album and the song speaks to the suffering earth, the forgotten street children and lost love . . .Renowned for her messages of peace, international integration, defense of human rights and artistic and personal integrity, Mercedes continues as the magnificent legend that her 35 year career has spanned. Afficionados of her music will be enthralled by the simple clarity of her inspired compositions that touch the heart.

Record Review /
Russ Elliot,
Musical Discoveries / 09. September 2005

Mercedes Sosa is releasing her first album in three years, "Corazón Libre" (Deutsche Grammophon), Tuesday. The 70-year-old was a founding figure of the nueva canción movement, which featured Argentine and Cuban singers who sang in a folk style about people's politics. "Corazón Libre" explores such traditional Argentine rhythms aszamba, chacarera, tonada and chamamé. Sosa focuses on contemporary songs by Argentine poets and songwriters, and her voice sounds as robustly moving as ever.

Record Review /
Ed Morales,
Newsday.com / 11. September 2005

Sosa has always used her songs to condemn social injustice while reviving the folk music of her native Argentina. There is a fascinating contrast at play here: the singer's soaring vocals are backed by sparse, acoustic arrangements on this set of miliongas und chacareras. But Sosa's solemn delivery underscores the heaviness of songs like "Los Ninos de Nuestro Olvido", which describes a kid from a South American metropolis dreaming of a warm home while sniffing glue and living in the streets.

Record Review /
New York Post / 14. September 2005

Here's a tough album by one of Latin America's toughest singer/songwriters. Sosa has always used her songs to condemn social injustice while reviving the folk music of her native Argentina. There's a fascinating contrast at play here: the singer's soaring vocals are backed by sparse, acoustic arrangements on this set of milongas and charcareras.

Record Review /
New York Post / 14. September 2005

In Argentina, Mercedes Sosa is known as one of the major voices of "nuevo cancion" (new song), a politically charged movement that included many of the best South American folksingers of the 1960s and '70s. Sosa's recent disc spotlights her beautifully pure contralto. Here, she receives the support of an ideal all-acoustic backing group adept at interpreting diverse regional rhythms.

Record Review /
Aaron Cohen,
Chicago Tribune / 23. September 2005

Having turned seventy years old and of fragile health in recent years, her recordings have been spare -- with live recordings filling wider gaps between those with new songs -- which makes this release even a stronger reason to rejoice.As far as this album is concerned, the wait has been amply justified. Mercedes has chosen an intimate ensemble for these offerings, the accompaniment consists of musicians with whom she's played for many years, and the few instruments and austere -- yet heartfelt -- arrangements in each song focused on her exquisite voice and the mastery of her interpretations.To select songs for singular praise is quite difficult since every one of these tracks is magnificent, whether they are songs she's not sung before or those who she's chosen to sing again with new arrangements. That said, there are several which deserve attention and promise special delight. Among the new songs, "Corazón Libre" which is bound for addition to her long list of classics, "País," "Tonada del Otoño," "Tonada del Viejo Amor" -- a duet with the legendary Eduardo Falú- and "Y la Milonga lo Sabe" are stunning in depth and simplicity. When it comes to new versions, "Todo Cambia," a song that has reached hymn-like status in Argentina since she first sung it, shines brightly. Furthermore, her choice of recording it in a slower and quieter form, brings to the fore new dimensions and nuances -- at least it's true in my case -- that you may not have fully appreciated before.All in all, Mercedes Sosa has made another pearl of an album, and if her voice may not always have the chant-like power of earlier recordings, it has not lost any of the heart and wisdom she's known for infusing her songs with. Whenever I listen to this album I'm reminded of the poet Stanley Kunnitz when he says "I am not done with my changes" because Mercedes is clearly not done with hers. May God bless her.

The Argentine legend, long exiled from her homeland for voicing antimilitaristic sentiments, marks her 70th birthday with this landmark disc that simultaneously celebrates her illustrious past and a future filled with promise.

Mercedes Sosa

For four decades she has been a permanent fixture of Latin American folk music and one of the most important voices of South America. The Argentine star is revered throughout the world not only as a singer but also a champion of freedom. From the beginning of her career she has combined artistic and political commitment, and in her songs she has denounced social injustice, military force and corruption. At the end of the 1970s, she fled the military junta into European exile; her return to Argentina three years later was met at home with euphoric celebration. Since then she has been honoured as a national heroine and on her many concert tours has been received as her country’s cultural ambassador.

“Corazón libre” is her first studio album for edge music, produced by guitarist “Chango” Farías Gómez. Also participating was her most important accompanist at the time, Jorge Giuliano, and such leading folk guitarists as Luis Salinas, Eduardo Falú, and Alberto Rojo. Along with folk-repertoire classics like “Zamba de Argamonte” and “Tonada del viejo amor”, Sosa sings mainly contemporary songs by Argentine poets and songwriters, whose lyrical, often melancholy texts express a great connection with nature, but also take as their subjects the problems of the South American continent. They tell of the “suffering earth”, the “forgotten street children”, “lost love”, and the escape into music: “Sometimes I sing ‘Milongas’ when it seems like life won’t go on.” Even though Sosa generally adopts a more subdued tone on “Corazón libre”, she does justice once again to her reputation as the “Voice of Latin America”: with an album that, with limited, modest means, produces a huge effect. Her powerful, charismatic voice remains unmistakable – it sounds more familiar than ever.